Rafa withdraws from Cincinnati
Photo by Beth Wilson
Rafa has announced via Facebook and Twitter that he will not play in the upcoming Cincinnati Masters. No word on if he plans to try and squeak a lower-tier tournament in before the US Open.
His Facebook post:
Hola a todos, un nuevo mensaje para anunciar algo que no me hace feliz, pero lamentándolo mucho no participaré en el torneo de Cincinnati la semana que viene. Sigo sin estar en condiciones para participar. Tengo muchos seguidores allí y recuerdos inolvidables como el de 2008. Continúo con mi recuperación y entrenamientos. Gracias!
Hi all, another message to announce something that definitely doesn’t make me happy, but unfortunately I won’t be competing at the tournament in Cincinnati next week. I am still not ready to play. I have many fans in Cincy and unforgettable moments such as 2008. I am continuing with my recup and practice. Thanks!
And tweets:
No podré participar en el torneo de Cincinnati. Sigo sin estar en condiciones. Tengo recuerdos inolvidables de 2008. Continúo recuperándome.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) August 9, 2012
I won’t be playing at Cincinnati Open. I am still not ready to play. I have unforgettable moments in 2008. I am continuing with my recup.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) August 9, 2012
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I’m kind of hoping that the “difference” in this current injury will be taken as a signal that it may be time to slow down and take a substantial rest/recovery/recuperation period simply to enable his knees to heal and for whatever treatmnets/interventions he has to be able to be effective. Sure it’s tough clawing your way back in to the top after being out eg a year….but would that be so bad if indeed it does give Rafa the platform fo a healthy set of knees to be able to play at his finest? . I personally believed (back in 2009) he came back too soon in that year… …and even with the treatments/injections/interventions didn’t get things right until the beginning of 2010. Ok 2101 was a great year….heck, every year is a great year for rafa …but also an intense year for playing – many many tournaments, many many matches . All putting more pressure on already fragile and worm body parts. Ditto 2011 with Djokovich phenomenum…I mean rafa has had two years of incredibly intense play even before 2012 started.
SO
I’d be kind of please if he announced he was taking a major length of time off – the rest of this year?? – to heal the persistent injuries to and stress on his knees.
I am not a doctor but from what I know, his knee issues are due to wear and tear. So, unless he takes enough time off on periodic or regular intervals, there is no silver bullet.
I am watching Wawrinka vs Mathieu match and one of the commentators has just said that he doesn’t think Rafa’s injury is physical! He said that when Nadal won the French Open he was absolutely fine and then as soon as he lost to Rossi at Wimbledon he was injured- he just called Rafa ” a wounded warrior” who he thinks has not a physical but a mental injury!!!!! No idea who that commentator is- or his partner- cannot recognize voices. I think one of the names is Doug.
Is anyone watching this match and knows the commentator’s name making those statements??? Please – I would like to write to him…and defend Rafa’s honour.
omg
I don’t know the commentator’s name, but I know one thing: they need to get their facts straight. These Masters 1000 tournaments are compulsory for the players. Rafa can’t just pull out if he feels like it. The decision on his fitness and ability to compete is a judgement made by the doctor(s) treating his injury. Rafa is, in effect, “on sick leave” from his job. It is the doctor who has stipulated that he is not yet ready to compete because obviously his injury is still of concern. And it will be the doctor’s decision as to whether Rafa has recovered enough to compete in the US Open, as again, the Grand Slam tournaments are compulsory for the players. Rafa doesn’t have a “mental injury”, that is just absurd!
leslie, Jay, I mean this kindly, but have you not noticed that Rafa is something of a head case? I think he’s one of the more fragile players on the tour, emotionally; you don’t see it often because most of his career, he’s been winning, but it’s definitely there.
Whether this current lay off is mostly in his head or mostly in his knees, I don’t know. Tendonitis takes a long time to heal (tendons have poor blood supply) so his requiring a long recuperation doesn’t look suspicious to me, strictly speaking. On the other hand, perhaps he needed a small vacation, and a chronic condition becomes a mask for a mental holiday. Who knows?
I would like to see him physically AND mentally well, back on the court. He’s been one of my favorite players since he broke on to the tour and I’m not ready for him to retire!
I agree with you in one thing: Rafa is indeed a bit of a head case. He always stroke me as more psychologically vulnerable than many other players – and that’s one reason why I admire his achievements so much! But no way he is taking a ‘mental holiday’ right now. First of all, there must be valid medical reasons for skipping masters tournies. Second: Rafa would never have skipped the olympics for a mental holiday. He had lobbied for month to be the flag bearer!
So the injury is just what it is – a bugger of a slow healing thing. I don’t understand, why this is so hard to believe for many so called experts – unless one believes in conspiracies and silent suspensions…
I would not label Rafa “a head case”…He is obviously more honest and forthcoming about his emotions than some other players, which may cause some people to believe he is “emotionally fragile” when in fact he has shown extraordinary mental tenacity, especially considering the injuries over the span of his career. And for that and many other reasons, he deserves respect.
‘Head case’ wasn’t meant to be taken complitely serious, but for me he does show a psychological fragility on court, which was not apparent, when he was younger, but became more pronounced later in his career. But you are right, at the same time he shows a great mental tenacity by overcoming those mental and physical problems. That makes him so fascinating and unique.
As I said above, I don’t think anything mental is responsible for this latest setback, but he will need all his mental strength to come back, whenever that will be. But if he is more or less healthy, he can do it.
Rafa is no mental case. My brother went through having tendonitous and its not anything having to do with a mental state…it’s a physical condition.
Completely agree with Julie’s comments. He is and always has been very open, honest and forthright about everything. Maybe this is seen as an emotional weakness, I don’t know, it’s just his way. I certainly do not think for a single minute he is in anyway mentally or emotionally fragile. We’ve seen lots of pics recently of him out and about with family and friends, on the beach, in boats etc, he’s been out on the training courts practising. Now if he was hiding away, refusing to give interviews and such…..well, then I would be worried. He simply has an injury that is taking longer to heal than other previous ones have. And by the way, Gael Monfils has been out for longer than Rafa with a knee injury, you wonder why people don’t start speculating about him. It’s just because it’s Rafa, I think.
Julie, I agree with you completely. Nor will I play long-distance psychologist or apply the distinctly untechnical “head case” epithet. No one who gets to the top of the tennis heap and stays there for 8 years is fragile or unbalanced. I come from a family riddled with psychoses and neuroses, and from my perspective Rafa manages the stresses of his profession and ranking with astonishing success.
JayDee, good point about Monfils. There are others we could add as well, but your argument has carried. At least with me.
The man has a new, unfortunate physical disability in addition to his long-standing one, both due to hard overuse that is central to his oncourt game. Part of his condition was kept private during the clay season; I can think of many valid reasons for doing so without requiring venal or drugging purposes. He played throughout with his customary pain, which grew markedly greater by Wimbledon, where he started getting new evaluations. Both conditions have been the subject of public disclosure by the Spanish medical team, very recently as well as throughout his career. All this info is available online; one has only to search.
No mystery here — except to disgruntled fans of one of Rafa’s repeat victims.
Mental fragility? Rafa!?? Oh please. I’ve followed Rafa for a while now and one of the reasons I love him is that he has always behaved like a normal, well-brought up young man who keeps his success in perspective, who takes pains to be polite and patient with media and fans alike, who has steered clear of the pitfalls of fame, who values family and friends, who shows concern for others, who speaks honestly but with care for consequences, who has an unbelievable work ethic and commitment to professional responsibilites, do I need to go on?? He has knee problems, period. As someone with a bad knee I can testify to how debilitating it can be. If he needs time to get better then he needs time to get better and he deserves the rest. Fragility?… give me a break.
I don’t know that it’s all that hard to get out of a tournament due to a nagging injury. Yes, you need a doctor’s note – but who is going to say a person with a history of tendinitis ISN’T having a problem, if s/he says s/he’s in pain? Neither here nor there, really – just saying that it is entirely reasonable to believe that a player can miss time for reasons other than the one put forth by his/her camp. The tour is relentless and eats its own; I don’t think that fact is lost on the medical personnel who treat the players.
As for the head case thing – it’s not an insult, it’s an observation. And contrary to what’s been posted here, MANY top athletes are complete headcases. I think in some instances it actually helps them (see half, at least, the goalies in the NHL); in other cases, very much not (see Tanner, Evan, RIP). As for Rafa, I’ve been saying for some years that he needs a sports psychologist in his camp, and after last year, I believe that more strongly than ever.
Which doesn’t mean I don’t agree with the many positive things y’all are saying about him. He is, easily, my favorite player on the tour and has been for years. I want to see him play for many more years, although not if it’s going to permanently leave him crippled. Wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Whatever your thoughts or opinions, the term “head case” sounds incredibly cavalier and disrespectful, especially in describing someone as thoughtful, humble and honest as Rafa. So please, let the label go and let’s move on…
You are right, I probably should not have brought jargon common to other sports (hockey in particular) over to tennis. Clearly the term was taken out of context.
Get REAL..He’s no head case…!
The comments from Rafa to Spanish television are a little disconcerting. Seems like he doesn’t think he will make it to the USO either.
I don’t quite understand the comments about mental fragility. Unlike other athletes, I don’t think Rafa hides the way he feels or thinks. Sometimes this is misinterpreted by onlookers. You’ll rarely see such openness and honesty from most athletes because they were brainwashed into thinking that it is a form of weakness at a young age.
Irrespective of what happens on the court, all the best to Rafa off it.
I strongly agree with some of the most recent comments, in NO way is Rafa a head case. He is just the opposite. As already mentioned, you have only to look at Rafa’s record and very mature and insightful statements over the years to see how mentally strong and balanced he is. He has a physical injury, unfortunately like many other superb athletes, and THAT IS ALL.
I think the saddest part of this discussion and the speculation about his condition in the media is that if he did simply need a time out, needed some time off to rest or get his head together after several grueling years on the tour, he couldn’t just say that.
So true…
I haven’t commented for a long time but check this site daily to see what you are all saying about our favourite tennis player. No doubt our boy’s knees are his achilles heel, however, in the past, and none of you can deny this, he has proved very vulnerable when his confidence has been battered. It is very sad that after working so hard to mentally overcome Nole’s many victories over him, that he came a cropper at Wimbledon and, I think, has ended back at square one in terms of his psychological tennis game. This obviously has been compounded by his current knee problems. But as we’ve all seen previously, Rafa’s knee problems seem to occur when he’s had bad defeats. Would it be too far fetched to suggest they may be psychosymatic (prob not the correct spelling!!!)? Either way, tennis is crap without him and boring as hell! I wish he would get his head and knees in the right place and get back out on court asap! I wonder what Uncle Toni makes of it all? Vamos!
I seriously doubt that Rafa’s knee problems are psychosomatic as you suggest. And, rather than knee problems consistently occurring as a result of (or as a rationalization for) “bad defeats” it is more likely that the degenerative knee problem is at least to some degree the cause of those defeats.
patrick mc enroe just tweeted rafa is out of the us open
Yes it’s official now as Eurosport have confirmed this in the last hour or 2. Tennis is so boring & not worth watching without Rafa. I’ll cheer for Murray partly cos I’m sure Rafa would love it if he won US Open this year taking out Fed & Djok just like he did at Olympics. Hope Rafa’s not getting too bored during all this absence! Poor baby! Love him to bits!!
I had no idea so many members here were psychologists. Amazing.
Please count me out on any more discussion of Rafa’s presumed fragile psyche. And please stop using epithets for mental conditions.
The man’s got bad knees. End of line.
Sky sports just announced Rafa as confirmed he has withdrawn from the USO.
Although I expected this news I feel sadness. Another tournament that will not be the same without him, for me anyway. He brings the anticipation and excitement that’s why I love watching him so much.
For Pete’s sake! It doesn’t matter if it is his head or his knees or his big toe. The man doesn’t feel ready to compete and that is all that matters. IF HE COULD BE OUT THERE, HE WOULD BE! Give it a rest.